By Dorcas S
You may not know it, but the mass voter registration exercise is going to be CORD’s saving grace. There are reasons why that is the case:
Voter Apathy
As of today there are about 9 million unregistered voters. A great percentage of these people suffer from voter apathy. And, most of the people who suffer from voter apathy are people who have traditionally been in the opposition. They’ve voted severally and watched helplessly as their votes are stolen and another person is imposed on the country. They now think that voting doesn’t make a difference and suppose that even if Raila wins, his votes will be stolen. Therefore, they developed cold feet on registering as voters before, and were not going to do it if the clamor for voters to register didn’t hit a new crescendo. More, the last few days have emboldened denizens from opposition backyards, and, for the first time in the last couple of years, victory seems possible. These people are going to come out in droves to try and oust the rogue jubilee regime.
Fear
In every election cycle in this country, voters are usually driven by fear, or something equally exciting and unsettling. Nothing else. The electorate in this country have not matured enough to identify talking points and policies as ways to gauge incoming leaders. They vote solely based on emotion.
Let’s have a look in what has transpired the last fifteen years since we supplanted the last of KANU’s main tentacles:
– In 2002, there was a euphoria that caught on most of the country. People were excited for a new broom. They out-and-out rejected anybody bearing a semblance of KANU, and for the first time, all Moi’s sons who were members of parliament in diverse places in Rift Valley Province (as it was then)were sent packing alongside their despotic father. Uhuru, Moi’s crony, was defeated outright. It was a euphoria- a need for change. People were fatigued.
– In 2007, after seeing that NARC, the ruling regime, had reneged on its promises, voters came out in droves and swore to vote it out. The ODM wave had billowed across the country, through every nook, cranny and crevice. It didn’t matter what NARC had, or promised to do. It is what voters strongly felt. They voted for ODM, but the votes were stolen.
– In 2013, the ICC question came into play and the jubilee duo hang on its coattail to ascend to power. The Kikuyus and Kalenjins voted out of fear- to shield their sons from the ICC monster. At that time, people from the two areas voted to the last man because the fear was very real and potent. It did not matter that CORD’s agenda was better, and that Raila had shown his leadership acumen as prime minister- Kalenjins and Kikuyus voted overwhelmingly for the duo- but not enough to escape a runoff- thus, necessitating rigging. That is why they rigged, albeit a little.
-In 2017 the ICC question is put to rest, and the only thing the duo is piggybacking on is their illusory development record. But there is fear. There is fear that should opposition lose, the country is going to burn. There is fear that if Jubilee is elected into office once again, they will plunder our resources further. There is fear that if Uhuru is president for another five years, William Ruto will likely succeed him. There is a whole lot of fears, and that fear is worrying a section of Kenyans who hitherto hadn’t registered as voters. These people are now coming out in hordes to register with the sole agenda of sending Jubilee home.
Believe or not, Jubilee is going home- Uhuru to Gatundu, and William Ruto can now concentrate on poultry farming (it must be fun tending things that think like you).
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